NOMINATIONS FOR PAF OFFICERS BEING ACCEPTED

AUGUST 15, – SEPTEMBER 30, 2024

The Paralegal Association of Florida, Inc., (PAF)’s Nominations and Election Committee is responsible for the nominations of Association officers and serves from the nominations process through the elections and reading of the Committee report at the next Annual “Business” or Leadership” Meeting.

2025 PAF Nominations and Elections

As a PAF Member, it is your privilege and responsibility to choose your leadership. The PAF Nominations and Election Committee will be preparing the 2023 slate of candidates from nominations received for the following positions:

• President
• First Vice President
• Second Vice President
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• NALA Liaison
• Director at Large

PAF Officers, the NALA Liaison and the Director-at-Large must be

• Active members of this corporation;
• Actively employed as a paralegal, as defined in PAF Bylaws; and
• Candidates for the offices of President and First Vice President must have served on the Executive Committee in at least one of the three years prior to the current election.

Members wishing to declare themselves or someone else as a candidate for any of the above offices shall complete and return their nomination by September 30, 2024.  The Committee Chair will not consider any nominations received after that date nor will the nomination be placed on the Ballot of Candidates.  Elections will be held electronically October 16, 2024 through October 22, 2024 . The Nominations Form must be signed with the completed endorsement of at least five (5) active members of this corporation.

2025 Nomination- Declaration of Candidacy to access the Nomination Form.  Declarations with appropriate endorsements may be delivered by facsimile, email, or postal service to:

PAF’s Nominations and Elections Committee
c/o Asha Maharaj-Lucas
P.O. Box 11081
Tallahassee, FL 32303
[email protected]

Upon close of nominations, the Committee will review and prepare the 2024 Ballot which will include background information and professional credentials for each candidate.  The final ballot will be sent electronically to the voting membership prior to elections opening on October 16, 2024.

Thank you for supporting the future of PAF’s leadership!

PAF BOARD POSITION DESCRIPTIONS

 PRESIDENT
The Corporation’s President shall be the general manager of this Corporation, and therefore, general manager of all of the Chapters, shall have general supervision of the business, shall see that all orders and resolutions of the Board of Directors are enforced and put into effect, shall be its principal officer and agent, shall be and serve as Chair of its Board of Directors, shall preside at all meetings and shall negotiate and execute all contracts, bonds, mortgages, and all other instruments whatsoever incident to the conduct of business of this Corporation as limited by Section 7.03 of these Bylaws.

The President shall have such other and further authority, power and discretion as shall be reasonably necessary, incident to or convenient for the accomplishment of the purposes of this Corporation and the Chapter, as applicable and transaction of all of its business of whatsoever nature except as shall be prohibited under the laws of Florida, or absolutely reserved to the Board of Directors in these Bylaws or hereafter limited by act of the Board of Directors.

The Chapter President shall have similar duties and authority for the Chapter President’s specific Chapter.  The Chapter President shall serve on the Corporation’s Board of Directors as a voting member of the Corporation’s Board of Directors.

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT

The First Vice President shall assist the President at the discretion of the President.  The First Vice President shall perform such other duties as from time to time may be assigned by the Board of Directors or the President.  The First Vice President shall exercise the functions of the President in the absence or disability of the President and, when so acting, shall have all of the power and authority of the President.  Further, the Corporation’s First Vice President shall act as Vice Chair of the Seminar Committee, whose role shall be to provide guidance, recommendations and overall seminar management as may be more specifically delineated in the Standing Rules.

SECOND VICE PRESIDENT

The Second Vice President shall be charged with soliciting new members.  The Corporation’s Second Vice President shall have the authority to approve or reject all applications for membership in accordance with all Bylaws and all Standing Rules of this Corporation.  Applications shall be made upon standard forms furnished by this Corporation and submitted with annual dues, as more particularly set forth in Section 3.05 of these Bylaws. The Corporation’s Second Vice President shall also oversee and coordinate with the Corporation’s Headquarters the mailing of dues statements to all members and for follow-up on delinquent renewals as directed by the Board.

The Second Vice President shall cause to be prepared and kept current a Membership Roster, providing copies as required to the Board of Directors of this Corporation.  Roster updates shall include both new and renewal memberships approved, and the effective date thereof.  The Second Vice President shall also provide to the Board of Directors notice of deletions from the roster for non-payment of dues, and the effective date of deletion. The Second Vice President unless delegated to the Nominations and Elections Chair shall also be responsible for determining whether a quorum exists for purposes of transacting official business at any duly noticed meeting of this Corporation. Further, the Chapter Second Vice President shall perform such other duties as may be designated by the Standing Rules.

 SECRETARY

The Secretary shall keep a full and accurate account of all meetings of the membership and the Board of Directors and, when directed, shall cause to be prepared and mailed notices of meetings of the membership or of the directors.  Notice shall be deemed to have been properly given when delivered in person, by facsimile, by e-mail or other electronic transmission or by mail, and, if mailed, shall be deemed to have been delivered when deposited in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the appropriate recipient at his or her last known address. The Corporation’s Secretary shall keep the seal of this Corporation and shall affix the same to all documents requiring the seal either upon the direction of the Board of Directors or the President.  Unless otherwise directed by the Board of Directors, the Secretary shall have no duty to determine that any report or return shall have been made or any tax paid to any governmental body. Any minutes of any meeting shall be available to the NALA President upon request.  If a Chapter so desires, one person may hold the dual office of Recording Secretary and Corresponding Secretary if such positions are designated in the Chapter’s Rules and Regulations.

TREASURER

The Treasurer shall review and approve the full monthly account of the receipts and disbursements for this Corporation, or the Chapter including the deposit of all monies in depositories as shall be designated by the Board of Directors from time to time, and shall review, approve, and deliver a report of the finances of this Corporation whenever requested by the Board of Directors or the Corporation or Chapter’s President. Delivery shall be deemed to have been properly made when delivered in person, by facsimile, by e-mail or other electronic transmission or by mail, and, if mailed, shall be deemed to have been delivered when deposited in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the appropriate recipient at his or her last known address.  The Treasurer shall attend and participate in any and all budget review meetings.  The Treasurer may sign checks on behalf of the Corporation or the Chapter, as the case may be, under the authority, direction and supervision of the Corporation’s/Chapter’s President.

NALA LIAISON

The Corporation’s NALA Liaison (“Liaison”) shall be a NALA member, shall be familiar with NALA’s Bylaws and Standing Rules, and shall receive minutes of all NALA meetings.  The Liaison shall represent this Corporation at NALA’s Annual Meeting & Convention (“Convention”) and shall attend the following events at the Convention: Annual Meeting of Affiliated Associations, Membership Forum, Annual Membership Meeting, and the Board of Directors Meeting following the election of officers at the Annual Membership Meeting.  Board approval is required if the Liaison cannot attend any of the foregoing meetings. In the event the NALA Liaison is unable to attend the NALA annual meeting of affiliated associations, the association may designate another NALA active member to serve as its’ representative.  The Liaison shall be responsible for setting up a table at the Convention that showcases Paralegal Association of Florida, Inc. and its activities and achievements.  The Liaison shall be responsible for preparing an annual report of the Corporation’s membership and activities for submission to NALA prior to the Convention for publication at the Convention and shall prepare semiannual reports on the Corporation’s membership and activities to the NALA Affiliated Associations Director on forms provided by NALA headquarters.  Copies of said reports shall be delivered to the President and Headquarters simultaneously with their submission to NALA.  A report shall also be prepared summarizing the events at NALA’s Annual Meeting and Convention, and shall be delivered to the President, the Chair of the Editorial Board and Corporate Headquarters no later than 30 days after the Convention.  Corporate Headquarters shall disseminate the report to the Board at its next meeting and the Editorial Board Chair shall publish the report in the next issue of In Brief for distribution to the membership.  The Liaison shall report all PAF officers’ names to NALA headquarters and the NALA Affiliated Associations Director within thirty (30) days after election or appointment.  The Liaison may submit items this Corporation wishes discussed to the NALA Affiliate Associations Director and shall, within sixty (60) days of passage, notify NALA Headquarters and the Affiliated Associations Director of any changes in this Corporation’s Bylaws. The Liaison shall be the main contact between NALA and this Corporation, and shall be empowered to bind this Corporation upon approval of the Board of Directors.

DIRECTOR AT LARGE

The Corporation’s Director at Large is elected by the Membership at its annual meeting and shall serve as a liaison between those individual members of Paralegal Association of Florida, Inc. who live and work in an area where no local Chapter exists.  The Director at Large is also responsible for the development of new Chapters of this Corporation and such additional duties as the President may direct from time to time.